10 things you need to know about Tofino

This video features 3 unique perspectives on what Tofino means to these true Tofitians: Tracy the Baker, Catherine and her family of ocean adventurers, and Matahil, a Tofino-born-and-raised Coast Guard. Share your own Tofino stories at YourTofino.com; your posts will feed our storyboard, or you may even be featured in an upcoming video episode of your own! #yourtofino

Storm season has passed. It's time to grab a wetsuit and hit the water. Or just bring your rain boots.

1. The Pacific Rim Whale Festival celebrates the roughly 20,000 grey whales on their yearly migration northbound right past Vancouver Island and Tofino. Activities include the March 16 First Nations' guided Big Tree Walk on Meares Island, where some of the oldest trees measure more than 18 metres (60 feet) in diameter. Adults $75; kids aged three to 12, $45. There's also a Whales 'n' Tales event for kids of all ages where you join Ocean Outfitters for a seascape adventure with stories with a salty sea captain. Adults $89, seniors and students $79; kids $69. Details and a whole lot more at pacificrimwhalefestival.com.

2. Standup paddle boarding: Tofino is synonymous with surfing, but paddle boarding is accessible to just about everyone. T'ashii Paddle School will pick you up, bring the gear, and get you on the water. Owner Emre Bosut is your guide and wildlife instructor who probably spends more time on the water than off. One of Bosut's favourite spots is Grice Bay, a magical tidal flat on the east side of the peninsula that teems with wildlife, including a few curious seals who'll follow you. This glass-like bay is idyllic. You almost expect a hobbit to pop out from the dense forest. Info, prices and reservations at Tofinopaddle.com.

3. Free ferry ride: If you pre-register for a two-night stay and a guided marine tour from April 1 to 30, you get a return trip via BC Ferries. Check out www.freeferry.ca.

4. Hot springs: It’s a day trip with Remote Passages to Maquinna Provincial Park, where thermo-heated water from about five kilometres below is forced up through the fault in the West Coast tectonic plates to create nature’s perfect soaker tub. There’s a two-kilometre walk through the forest on a boardwalk that is routinely repaired and maintained by people who customize the planks they install here. Watch for the one that says “Clara Richardson Will You Marry Me?” For all those who’ve walked that boardwalk, the answer was yes: Richardson, who lives in Vancouver and hooked up with Postmedia via Facebook, says she was proposed to on Valentine’s Day weekend in February 2012. They married in August 2012 at the Blackrock resort in Ucluelet.

When you reach the springs, there’s a waterfall that feeds successive pools with varying temperatures as you near the one closest to the ocean. Clamber down inky, wet rocks to the pools for a soak with the ocean view. As it’s a park, we can be guaranteed there will never be a Hot Springs resort here with suites with fireplaces, and down duvets. Thank God. It’s a rare gift to be able to visit here. Hot springs tours; whale-watching tours, kayaking.Remotepassages.com

5. Sport fishing: Many of the local tour operators have winter specials that extend to the end of April. Salmon and halibut are de rigger (get it?) catches and there's nothing quite like snagging a halibut and hauling up what feels like the hood of a car. Go to http://bit.ly/NKUqjm for deals.

6. Meares Island: A landmark court injunction in 1995 prevented forestry giant MacMillan Bloedel from logging this area. Environmental groups along with members of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth nation, which claims hereditary title to these lands, made international headlines during 14 years of protests that culminated with hundreds of arrests. Charter a boat or try kayaking to this island that sparked the move to preservation and forged agreements allowing First Nations to manage their own resources.

7. Clayoquot Sound: Designated in 2000 as a Unesco Biosphere reserve, Clayoquot Sound totals more than 350,000 hectares and is home to the largest stands of unlogged rainforest on Vancouver Island, plus wolves, black bears, grey whales, orcas, porpoises, seals, sea lions, river otters, bald eagles, osprey, loons, elk, and raccoons — to name just a few.

8. Senses: Sea air tinged with a cedar scent. The soothing sound of the ever-present surf. The propellor-like sound that swans make as their wings strike the surface of the water as they take off from Grice Bay. And the damp, woodsy smell as the fog is burned off by the warming sun.

9. Tin Wis Resort: This beachfront hotel is reasonably priced, with a friendly, attentive staff — and has the best coconut creme brulee. Right on Mackenzie Beach, the location provides that lulling sound of waves all day long. Check out deals and packages at tinwis.com

10. Did you know someone from Tofino is called a Tofitian? How exotic, as a colleague just noted. Tourism Tofinoregularly posts some gorgeous videos, the latest which reveals this fact. Go to tourismtofino.com

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